Excessively Diverted

After the longest hiatus ever, Sammi and Beau return to talk about Joel Kim Booster's vibrant, loving take on Pride & Prejudice.  Music-Tree Tops by Autohacker  

Sammi and Beau are back to talk about their favorite parts of the #ExcessivelyDrunk Pride & Prejudice groupwatch, including Hill's Shenanigans, Dog Memes, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Andrew Davies' Wet Boys(tm) and favorite tweets from the crowd! 

#Shakesyear returns Sammi and Beau weather the quarantine by talking Baz Luhrmann's take on Romeo & Juliet with special guest star Stephen Sajdak from the We Hate Movies Podcast! 

We are back (albeit remotely) to talk about Autumn de Wilde's gorgeous adaptation of Emma! 

Sammi and Beau are joined by Let's Get Weirding: A Dune Podcast Co-Host Megan Sunday to discuss Matthew Bright's 1996 take on Little Red Riding Hood, Freeway! A movie that is at times hard to watch, it boasts fun twists and two solid performances from Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland. 

This week Sammi and Beau are joined by Shannon Campe from the delightful Little Women: A Modern Audio Drama to talk about the "flimsy and charmless" modernization of Little Women, The March Sisters At Christmas! 

Beau and Sammi are back to talk about favorite episodes, best moments of the shows, the highs and lows of their three-year journey, with a few notes about what's in store for the year ahead! 

Beau and Sammi are back from a longer-than-expected break and this time they are joined by special guest Andrew Schwartz, host of the delightfully bizarre Talkin' Bout Turtle! This episode they discuss the 90's teen reimagining of Romeo & Juliet...not, the other 90's teen reimagining of Romeo & Juliet, Ronnie and Julie! Marvel at Joshua Jackson's cable knit sweaters and smooth, just-out-of-puberty face, along with Teri Garr's hair, horrible name changes, terrible siblings, and the hot political climate of Spokane, Washington! Also keep an eye out for the most punchable Mercutio ever portrayed!     

Sammi and Beau are BACK with a new episode AND a new theme song! Join them as they close out the 4-part series Shakespeare ReTold and talk hair, stalkers, and refreshing updates to this beloved play.     

Sammi and Beau return with the third and most underwhelming installment of their Shakespeare ReTold Series. An adaptation that wasn't sure what it wanted to be, was at times very disjointed, with some humor that didn't quite land and the most un-funny Bottom yet seen. This episode is packed with Puka Shell Energy. 

This week Sammi and Beau are back (with some new recording equipment so patience please) with Part II of their series on Shakespeare ReTold. This time it's the Scottish Play at bat in a perfectly blood-soaked modernization featuring powerful performances from James MacAvoy, Richard Armitage, and Keeley Hawes. Pull up a chair and a glass of something red. 

Sammi and Beau begin their 4-Part series on Shakespeare ReTold from 2006, beginning with the Shirley Henderson/Rufus Sewell powerhouse that it Taming of the Shrew. A perfectly imperfect adaptation that nevertheless impresses the viewer with the powerful chemistry and near-flawless comedic timing between the two leads. As a bonus, seeing Rufus Sewell in fishnet stockings checked one item off of Beau's bucket list.   

Beau and Sammi head to the Great White North for a light-hearted take on Hamlet - yes, you read that right. Crack a beer, hoser. We're watching Strange Brew!  

Beau and Sammi discuss Joss Whedon's 2012 take on Much Ado About Nothing. While it may never dethrone the 90's version, this is a movie that is impossible to dislike thanks to it's sparkling cast of characters.   

Beau and Sammi try to wade through Tim Blake Nelson's modern take on Othello, with mixed results. While this movie was very well done and very true-to-text, it left us wondering if Modern adaptations of the tragedies don't need to be a bit *less* true to text.   

#Shakesyear continues with Kenneth Branagh's attempt to meld Shakespeare and 1930's Cinema in what was ultimately a wet pile of words, soundstages, and bizarre musical numbers. We should have loved it, given our fondness for the works of Baz Luhrmann, but it just didn't work for us, resulting in the shortest episode of Excessively Diverted yet. Maybe we'll have better luck next time.  Podcast art by Salty Said Sweetly https://www.saltysaidsweetly.com/

Beau and Sammi step deep in the heart of Texas in this odd, made-for-tv adaptation of King Lear and emerge with the best catchphrase yet heard on this show.     

Sammi and Beau finally hit a bump in the road that is #Shakesyear with 'A Midsummer Night's Rave,' a film that's certainly a good idea in theory but so poorly produced that it was hard to get invested in either the characters or plot. 

Sammi and Beau step up their art cinema game with Akira Kurosawa's 1957 masterfully take on MacBeth, 'Throne of Blood.'  Podcast Artwork by Salty Said Sweetly  

Sammi and Beau are shocked at how enjoyable and true-to-source this modernization of Twelfth Night is. Join them as they discuss this madcap comedy of twins, shipwrecks  soccer, slightly dim dreamboat Duke Orsino, and why it's never appropriate to change clothes in a bouncy house. 

#Shakesyear continues as Beau and Sammi discuss the early 80's answer to Romeo & Juliet, Valley Girl! This movie won our hearts by featuring an incredibly young Nicholas Cage at his most adorable, the incredible face acting of Deborah Foreman, and one of the greatest movie soundtracks of all time. Valley Girl was directed by Martha Coolidge, who also directed Material Girls, featured on our very first episode (but we won't hold that against her). 

Beau and Sammi kick off #Shakesyear with a double-header viewing of Taming of the Shrew and it's contemporary counterpart, 10 Things I Hate About You. While Beau shares ex-boyfriend horror stories, Sammi can't say enough about the beauty of Heath Ledger.  Be sure to follow the show on its BRAND NEW twitter feed! We want to hear from you! What movies are you hoping to hear us talk about?  Podcast art by Salty Said Sweetly 

Beau and Sammi return to discuss the movie chosen by our Rational Creatures contest winner, Crystal A, and they announce what's next for the future of the show. 

Author Tamsen Parker joins Beau to discuss her vibrant new retelling of Emma, If I Loved You Less. They discuss what still makes Emma such a compelling character 200 years later, writing books our parents can read, and how baked goods are shorthand for love. Join us for this one, it's simply delicious.  You can find Tamsen on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to name a few.  New Podcast Art from Salty Said Sweetly. 

Sammi and Beau go on the road to meet Jessamyn Leigh, one of the awesome women behind the new webseries-in-development, Rational Creatures. That's right, someone is FINALLY modernizing Persuasion! And it will be a diverse, inclusive adaptation! It is literally everything we've been asking for since the beginning of the show. Listen close for details on the contest, and make sure you donate, visit, and follow over at the Rational Creatures Seed and Spark page. 

Beau and Sammi are back for an unusual outing. One very important detail to know before listening: You will need to have 2005's Pride and Prejudice queued up to watch while listening to this episode. Join us as we sigh over the loveliness of the English countryside, lived-in Longbourn, and Matthew Macfadyen. If you're tuning in for 2 hours of Keira Knightley snark, we've got bad news for you...

Stepping into Sammi's shoes as co-host/special guest this episode is the lovely and talented Adam Roche from the wonderful podcasts The Secret History of Hollywood and Attaboy, Clarence!  Join Beau and Adam as they discuss the 1940 adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice,' a zany romcom with carriage races, pudding faces, and all the arrow euphemisms you can shake a stick at. Here the only thing bigger than the sleeves are the bonnets, Darcy seems to have a split personality, and Lady Catherine is a force for good. 

Sammi and Beau discuss Emma Approved part 2, weird Jams, appropriate office attire, and how everyone needs to stop trying to be Harriet's dad. 

Sammi and Beau discuss the coming hiatus, Season 3, and the future of Excessively Diverted. 

Sammi and Beau return to Pemberley Digital for Bernie Su's take on Emma, Emma Approved.Not just a lifestyle coach/matchmaker, Emma Woodhouse is a savvy business woman and personal brand, along with her business partner Alex Knightley and adorable assistant Harriet Smith, Emma is determined to be the face of Lifestyle Excellence (whatever that means?) So grab your tablets, your Kate Spade binders and your structured blazers and join us for Emma Approved, part 1 of 2. 

This week Sammi and Beau are joined by superstar podcaster Gena Radcliffe of the show Kill By Kill to discuss Whit Stillman's 2016 comedic masterpiece 'Love & Friendship,' based on the novella 'Lady Susan.' While Love & Friendship is not a modern adaptation, it is probably Austen's most subversive surviving work, and the scheming Lady Susan is played to absolute perfection by Kate Beckinsale with support from the marvelous Chloe Sevigny. 

Sammi and Beau are Bollywood bound once more for this Tamil adaptation of Sense & Sensibility. While it took a few minutes to acclimate to this movie, we found it incredibly charming with well drawn characters, humor, lots of entertaining musical numbers, and plenty of sweetness. These might be the best versions of Elinor and Marianne in any modern adaptation that we've seen! As an additional bonus, this movie features a cat wedding, so this definitely checked all of our boxes. 

A slightly intoxicated Sammi and Beau are joined by returning guest Karolinn and first-time guest Brian to discuss the 2015 Straight outta Salt Lake City series Austentatious, which asks "what would happen if the Dashwood sisters, Emma Woodhouse, and Elizabeth Bennet were all single career gals who lived on a series of sound stages? There is little here to recommend the series, from creepy, miscast, and poorly adapted characters to cheap sets and some rampant misogyny. If you were considering watching this, our advice would be "don't."  Warning to listeners, this might be our most profanity-riddled episode yet. 

Beau and Sammi road trip to the Oregon coast where they get the rare opportunity to play 'Marrying Mr. Darcy' with Award-Winning author Linda Beutler and previous guest Karolinn Fiscaletti. 

Karen M. Cox joins Beau to talk about her new novella, The Journey Home and her 1970's Emma-inspired extravaganza, I Could Write A Book. Karen convinces Beau to give Knightley a second chance, which is a miracle unto itself. 

This week we are joined by BOTH of the amazing ladies of Drunk Austen to talk about Hallmark's rather sanitized version of Teri Wilson's book 'Unleashing Mr. Darcy.' We unravel a vast conspiracy of money laundering and sex dungeon in the D.C. private school system, but mostly because we were kind of bored and hangry.     

Sammi and Beau close out the last chapter of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries with some real emotional highs and lows. As things start to stray into the dangerously cute zone for Lizzie and Darcy, news from home sends Lizzie rushing back, leaving all uncertain. Lydia gets a terrible shock and the Bennet Sisters rely on each other to cope and heal. Charlotte brings good news and Lizzie gets the best sort of birthday surprise. And in the end, the future looks very bright indeed.   

A lot of big events happening in between a *whole lot of filler* in these episodes. Jane gets real, Lizzie screws up big time, and Darcy plays along. 

In this whirlwind episode, Sammi and Beau are introduced to George Wickham, Catherine de Bourgh (and her little dog too), Fitz Williams, and finally, FINALLY the show introduces our William Darcy in the most dramatic possible way. Stay tuned at the end for a discussion on sexism from the literary fiction community, it's a real barn-burner. 

As the events of the show begin to follow Pride & Prejudice more closely, In this block of episodes the girls go to VidCon and have a long sojourn at Netherfield. We meet the astonishingly beautiful Lee siblings, Bing and Caroline. We also get introduced to the adorably emo cousin Mary and the unexpectedly entertaining Ricky Collins. 

Welcome to part 1 of our 5-part series on the 2012 web series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries! We'll discussed what worked (the very true-to-life female friendships) and what didn't (slut shaming booo). This was one of the most refreshing, truly modern adaptations we've watched for the show. Make sure to join in the discussion on our Facebook page!   

Sammi and Beau take a brief step back into the regency to watch the film adaptation of PD James' Death Comes to Pemberley. A straightforward "Elizabeth Darcy Murder Mystery" was too much to hope for, and instead we get a dour miniseries with a convoluted plot and characters that don't quite fit the Austen mold. We found ourselves unequal to caring about such questions as "Who killed Captain Denny?" and "Who is that hissing woman in the woods?" because we were so wrapped up in figuring out WHY Colonel Fitzwilliam was so aggro and why Darcy was ALWAYS SHOUTING.  Death Comes To Pemberley was directed by Daniel Percival and stars Anna Maxwell Martin, Matthew Rhys, Matthew Goode and Jenna Coleman

AAAAAnnnnd Sammi and Beau are BACK just in time to celebrate #pridemonth to discuss the first-ever gay Pride & Prejudice (film) re-imagining, Before The Fall.

In the season 1 Finale of the JAFFcast, Beau is joined by IPPY-Award Winning author Karen M Cox to discuss Heather Lynn Rigaud's Rock & Roll retelling of Pride & Prejudice, Fitzwilliam Darcy: Rock Star

Jenetta James, author of Suddenly Mrs. Darcy and The Elizabeth Papers joins Beau to discuss Elizabeth Adams Austen-inspired contemporary romance, Green Card, as well Austen's talent for comedy and her current cultural significance. 

Beau and Sammi are together again! Join the Excessively Diverted origin story as we discuss KaraLynne Mackrory's IPPY Award-winning book Haunting Mr. Darcy, as well as Austen's legacy of Feminist comedy. 

This week Beau is joined by her collaborator on The Many Lives of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Brooke West. They discuss Jenetta James' marvelous debut Suddenly Mrs. Darcy, and why angst is absolutely necessary in fiction. 

Time to talk books! Author Linda Beutler joins Beau North to discuss Jane Austen Fan Fiction, her relevancy today, and Joana Starnes' swoon-worthy book, The Unthinkable Triangle

Sammi and Beau are joined by the effervescent Robin of Drunk Austen to discuss the 2004 Bollywood Extravaganza "Bride and Prejudice." With full dance routines, color wheels, horrible mothers, Sitar workout playlists, and all the Grand Canyon Canoodling you can handle! Bride and Prejudice was directed by Gurinder Chadha and Stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Martin Henderson   Special thanks to Robin!  Please check out Drunk Austen on all their social media! 

Sammi and Beau are joined by two very special guests - Brian Skinner and Josh Hollis of The Predict-O-Cast! In this episode the fearsome four discuss adult men who can't dress themselves, embarrassing singing, therapy horses, swiss cheese, limousines, and lotion. SO MUCH LOTION. What's that smell? It's fruit, flowers, and a whole lotta bull. Also, despite the inoffensive movie we watched, the language gets a little salty, so listen with discretion. 

Sammi and Beau have some exciting guests to announce as well as some housekeeping announcements.